The Supervillain High Boxed Set: Books One - Three of the Supervillain High Series

by Gerhard Gehrke

  15. The Invasion Bonus Track

  Brendan was opening the truck door when Donnie knocked on the rear window with the revolver barrel.

  “You’ll have to manage without her. Besides, she’s taken. There’s more fish in the sea, amigo.”

  Tina grabbed Brendan’s shoulder. “Is that Nurse Dreyfus?”

  “Yeah. I don’t think she went missing. I think she went back home.”

  There was little more to the ceremony. A biker turned on a boombox that blasted some honky-tonk rock that sounded familiar, but the words were different than Brendan remembered. Then a few of the gang moved among the prisoners. Several were selected and forced to stand up, and then were examined as if they were cattle. Two warlords began to scuffle over one young woman, and the others just watched the fight. The leader was nowhere to be seen.

  Mimi hauled Charlotte to her feet. She marched her away towards the underpass. A truck was parked there with its halogen headlights and fog lights turned on. The smoke from the fire became an illuminated blue swirl as it moved through the underpass. Other gang members pushed several prisoners that direction. The lights were blinding. Brendan couldn’t tell what was happening.

  Freyda looked inside the truck cab. She pointed at Tina. “Don’t forget, Donnie. That one’s mine.”

  “Hey, I’m down one already,” Donnie said.

  She gave him a look, and he offered an exaggerated head nod which appeared to satisfy her.

  “Drive us over there,” Donnie said, pointing to the underpass.

  Brendan tried not to look at the other prisoners as they drove past them. He turned on his headlights but still had a hard time seeing where he was driving. As they got close to the underpass they were stopped by a guard. The man had a slung rifle and a bottle of wine in his hands.

  “Can I talk to Anak?” Donnie asked.

  The guard looked inside the cab. “You claiming all these? Kind of overreaching, Donnie.”

  “I’m just babysitting. Someone wanted them watched, and Donnie’s the one who is trustworthy, reliable, and on point.” He reached for the bottle but the guard didn’t hand it over. “What do you say? It’s ceremony. The warlord has to grant the request of anyone on the night of ceremony.”

  The guard let out a snort. “Maybe in the movies. If Anak wants to see you, he’ll send someone. Cut the engine.” The guard took a few steps back.

  Donnie banged on the cab. Brendan shut the motor off. He could hear screams from the parking lot behind them. The prisoners that had been brought forward to the underpass were waiting near the parked truck. One of the porters looked like he was writing on the neck of one of the seated prisoners as a few of the gang members watched.

  “They’re inking them,” Tina said.

  “Torben did that to Lucille and was going to do it to me. It’s how they mark property.”

  “I can’t believe I wanted to come here. They burned that man. It’s all too much. What can we possibly do against this?”

  “It’s easy,” Brendan said. “We don’t do anything but cooperate. They’re stronger. We give in or get killed. So we might as well survive and be on the winning team.”

  He heard Donnie giggle. He hoped he had spoken loud enough, but the lunatic in the truck bed could have been laughing at anything. In the rearview mirror, he saw Helen try to comfort Tina, but Tina jerked away from her.

  Donnie got out of the truck and hopped to the driver door. He reached through the window and started honking. Rolf emerged from the underpass. The guard made a chopping motion with his hand and shouted, “Knock it off!”

  Donnie kept at it. As Rolf got close, Donnie quit honking and offered a quick bow.

  “You keep getting more slack, and then I regret giving it,” Rolf said.

  “It’s because I’m Ivar’s favorite. And Anak once laughed at one of my jokes.”

  “It’s because you’re a mental case. Why do you have these prisoners loaded up? Your little mission is a no-go until I give the say-so. Ivar’s orders. So now you’re trying to go above our heads and see Anak? How do you think that will fly when Ivar finds out?”

  Donnie chuckled. “It’s not like I’m trying to be sneaky here. I’m not claiming any of them. Hell, Ivar was going to shoot all but one, and one of them just got claimed by Gundrun.”

  Is that what they’re calling Nurse Dreyfus?

  “That’s her right. Anything that’s yours we can take whenever we want.”

  “I know. That’s what I’m saying. I just want to borrow the rest of ’em before anyone claims them so I can find out what they know. Come on, man. I’ll bring them back mostly in one piece. You’ve got your hands full. ‘Hold the beachhead’ and all that fancy strategy. I’m too stupid to understand any of that. I’m a shock troop. That’s why you send me first. So let me do my job.”

  Rolf looked inside the cab. “I don’t like it, but you can actually make sense when you put your mind to it.”

  “I could kiss you, man.”

  “And I’ll break your arm. At least bring the older woman back alive. She seems to know something that might help us. And Freyda said she has dibs on the girl.”

  “Yeah, I heard. She told me twice. And what about the kid?”

  Ivar stared straight at Brendan. “There’s a certain defiance to him that could go either way. We could always use more porters, but he might be more trouble than he’s worth.”

  “You got that right. So its dealer’s choice.” He gave Brendan’s shoulder a playful punch. “Looks like our fates are intertwined, kid. Your day keeps getting better and better.”

  ***

  Brendan drove towards Dutchman Springs.

  The way proved treacherous at night. Twice he had to brake hard, back up, and go around a chunk of road he almost collided with. Helen continued to moan with each bounce of the truck. Tina sat leaning back and stared listlessly out the window.

  Donnie had gotten himself into the passenger seat before they departed. Judging by the number of muttered curses, his foot was causing him pain. As they drove, he began exploring the radio stations. He tuned past news reports and emergency broadcast tones, never pausing long enough for Brendan to catch more than a few words. It was maddening. Brendan had to force himself to not say anything. The maniac next to him had his revolver in the footwell. Finally Donnie stopped on a station with music that sounded like a polka with a pair of accordions being played fifty percent too fast.

  “Figures,” Donnie said. “Your music sucks here, amigo.” He left the station playing.

  A flash popped in the rearview mirror. Something in the sky far behind them exploded. Brendan braked and looked out the window. Whatever it was descended to the ground near the highway intersection.

  Donnie saw it too, but his mood was sullen. “They’ll keep shooting down birds until they stop sending them.”

  “How many rockets do you people have?”

  “A whole world’s worth. Now where are you taking me that will fulfill my every fantasy?”

  “It’s a school. There’s a machine there that’ll connect to other worlds.”

  Donnie yawned. “This better be good, kid, or you’re going to be in for a long night.”

  “So where did you—the warlords—get their gateway machine?”

  “Wouldn’t we all like to know. But we’re not all a bunch of dumb biker-trash gunrunning crank heads.” He gestured for Brendan to go.

  They were heading towards the drive-in when bright lights kicked on in front of them.

  “Stop your vehicle,” a voice over a loudspeaker ordered. “Hands on the steering wheel.”

  “Oooh, oooh,” Donnie said. “We’re in deep hot water now. Better do as the policeman says, boys and girls, or they’re going to throw us in the pokey!”

  Brendan slowed to a stop. He kept both hands on the wheel and turned his head away from the bright light. Two figures with flashlights approached the pickup. They appeared to be highway patrolmen.

  “Where’d you come from
?” the first patrolman asked.

  Donnie laughed. “A long way away.”

  “I’m a student at Dutchman Springs Academy,” Brendan said. “We’re trying to get back to school.”

  Lights played on their faces as the patrolman studied them.

  “What’s wrong with you?” the second patrolman asked Donnie.

  “Oh, I’m just a happy boy.”

  “Are you high?”

  “Not as high as I’d like.”

  “Did you come through the highway exchange?” the first patrolman asked.

  “No,” Brendan said. “We were using side roads. The highways are blocked.”

  “We have an emergency situation down there, and we’re trying to get any information we can. Did you see anything unusual on the road?”

  Donnie was snickering and barely containing himself. The second patrolman shined his light across the other two passengers. He stopped on Helen. “Ma’am, are you hurt?”

  Helen nodded. “Please help us.”

  Donnie reached down towards his revolver. Brendan grabbed his arm.

  “Officer,” Brendan said. “She’s dislocated her shoulder, and I understand there’s a triage tent at the school staffed with medical personnel from the hospital. We’d like to take her there.”

  The cops paused. How could they not see Donnie’s gun? But both looked worn out and maybe a little scared.

  The light moved to Tina. “You’re a student too?”

  She nodded.

  The second patrolman moved the light back to Donnie. Donnie was no longer smiling. He was glaring at Brendan.

  “And what’s your relationship with this man?” the second patrolman asked.

  “This guy helped us get our truck out of a ditch. He lost his house during the last earthquake, and we’re taking him to town.”

  The first patrolman went and checked the truck bed.

  “Okay. Drive careful and slow.” The patrolman waved them on.

  Once they were out of earshot, Donnie let out a whoop. “My amigo! Better believe I got your truck out of a ditch. I’ll even gift you this ride. In fact, it’s yours. Congratulations. Spoils of war and all that. I’m grateful. Really. Because I am too plucked out to pull the spines from those cops. Now that’s a sport that never gets old. But all play and no rest makes Donnie cranky.”

  He turned so he was kneeling on his seat. He looked back at Helen. “But I didn’t miss the ‘we need help.’”

  He reached back and grabbed her. Brendan slammed on the brakes. Tina tried to pull Donnie off but couldn’t dislodge him as he started to choke her. Helen was gasping.

  “If she dies, we accomplish nothing,” Brendan said. “This will all be a waste of time.”

  Donnie maintained his grip for a moment before letting go. Helen coughed and slumped in the seat. Donnie got himself seated again.

  “I had a boss like you once,” Donnie said in a dejected tone.

  “Did you kill him?”

  Donnie exhaled sharply. “No. He got promoted while I stayed stuck in middle management.”

  He said no more. Brendan drove on.

  16. After You

  Brendan found an academy parking lot where he saw no activity. The campus was unusually bright for the late hour, lit up with the emergency lights, although the rest of Dutchman Springs was without power. A few people were moving about in the shadows. Brendan avoided them and double-parked behind a row of electric vehicles connected to blacked-out charger stations.

  “I know there’s nothing I can do to keep you from raising hell,” Brendan said. “But we need our machine intact. It’s all very fragile.”

  “Your machine?” Donnie asked.

  “Yeah, our machine is fragile. It will break easily if there will be people shooting at you or anything like that.”

  “What Brendan here meant to say is your machine,” Tina said.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  They got out of the truck. Helen needed Tina for support. Tina kept looking at Brendan as if waiting for some signal. Brendan dug through the cargo space behind the back row of seats. He found a small toolbox and took out a flashlight.

  “It’ll be dark inside.”

  He got under one of Donnie’s arms. Donnie leaned on him, the revolver out again in his free hand. They headed towards the admin building.

  Brendan gave a silent prayer that no staff, security, or helpful citizen would get in their way.

  The power was out in the admin building. At least the alarm was now off. Brendan could hear the generators below them still faintly humming away, but none of the power appeared to do much else but fuel the gate machine. He marveled that no rescue worker had shut the generators down. No one stopped them. No one noticed. Brendan felt a twinge of irritation. A mass murderer had three kidnapped hostages with him and was on school grounds unchecked.

  They were the ones who would have to handle Donnie.

  The lobby walls had large cracks in the paint, and a number of ceiling tiles had fallen to the floor. Several light fixtures dangled, their electrical connections clinging to them like vines. Donnie pushed the elevator button a few times.

  “It’s out,” Brendan said. “We have some stairs to take. The gate is on the fifth floor.”

  Tina cleared her throat. “But, uh, don’t we have to go down to the basement to make sure it’s all turned on?”

  “No. We left it working. It’ll come on.”

  Helen seemed keen on the conversation. “It’s working?”

  “You said earlier you needed all of you, even the one Gundrun took,” Donnie said. “But now it works. Amazing. Is it magic? Did you say the special words on your way here?”

  “It’s complicated. Let’s get up there, and I’ll show you.”

  Donnie scratched his face with the revolver’s barrel. “Then I guess you kids get to carry old Donnie.”

  ***

  Going up the five flights of stairs while Donnie had an arm around his shoulder depleted the last of Brendan’s strength even with Tina helping. Brendan wasn’t sure if Donnie was dragging his feet deliberately so they all fell, but it tickled Donnie to no end the three times it happened. The revolver never slipped from his hands.

  The emergency lights had quit. Brendan kept the flashlight beam in front of them as best he could. Large quantities of dust had settled onto the steps. Helen followed along silently. When Brendan checked on her with the light, she appeared pale but gave a determined nod.

  Each door in the stairwell now had a spray-painted tag made by the rescuers.

  “We sure know how to kick the door in on a new world, eh?” Donnie said.

  The headmaster’s office was as they had last left it. Donnie hopped forward and leaned on the large desk.

  “So this is where the magic happens?”

  Brendan went to the machine and examined it. “This is it.” He made a show of opening panels and inspecting the components with his light.

  Helen was next to him. “It’s back together. You’ve reassembled it. That means you can get it working. This is amazing.”

  Tina came up behind her and put a hand to her injured shoulder. Helen stiffened. Tina said, “We still need to see what works and what doesn’t before we just throw the power switch, right?”

  Helen nodded. “Of course. It’s just…I’ve waited so long to see proof of our theories.”

  Brendan got to his feet. “I’ll need more lights. And I’ll need to go to the basement after all and check on the generators in case any of the breakers got thrown during the earthquake.”

  Donnie considered the request. “This is where I’d normally give you five minutes to go do what you need to do before I start breaking pieces off your girlfriend. Freyda claimed her, but didn’t specify which parts she claimed. But what say we just turn this sucker on. It’s been a day. I want to see where we’re at. Think you can do that? Come on, amigo. Impress me.”

  “But nothing might happen. Or it could fry a circuit board. Then we’d be
out of business for the duration.”

  “I can turn it on,” Helen said. “It’s intact.” Her eyes hadn’t left the machine. She nudged Brendan aside and closed the open panels and hit the toggles. The light came on. “It’s working. It has power.” She took a few steps back.

  A moment passed and the machine did nothing.

  “Not impressed,” Donnie said.

  “This is as far as we’ve gotten. The machine turns on. But one of them has a key that used to belong to the machine’s creator. The ring he wears. That’s the last piece of the puzzle.”

  Brendan felt himself flush. Helen had been paying attention to the gesturing and whispering between him and Charlotte.

  “Fair enough,” Donnie said. “Okay, amigo, you’re up.”

  “Nothing what I said earlier has changed. I could overload it all, and it will break.”

  Donnie thumbed the revolver’s hammer back. Brendan took a deep breath and motioned for Tina to back away. He raised his hand to the machine. The air shimmered. The gate was open.

  Donnie stood up and moved towards the gate. “Well imagine that. No fuss, no muss. That’s a good deal slicker than anything we’ve got. Ours is a little more two-stroke engine compared to this beauty.”

  A deep chill descended on the room. Their breath was now visible and Brendan felt himself begin to shiver. He stepped behind Donnie.

  Just a quick push…

  Tina must have had the same idea. She moved towards Donnie but he was faster, and he turned and grabbed her wrist. Brendan went for the gun hand. He pulled Donnie’s arm back and twisted the revolver away with everything he had. Donnie’s finger was trapped in the trigger guard. It bent and snapped. Donnie screamed. The revolver went to the floor.

  Tina pushed at Donnie while he got an arm around Brendan. Then Donnie pushed off with both legs, sending all three tumbling through the gate.

  ***